מסמך משפטי: Yevr.-Arab. I 328

תיאור

Legal record (#101) in a court register/pinqas from a Karaite beit din in Cairo (on f. 34r of Yevr.-Arab. I 328). Dated 13 Kislev 532[.] AM, with an inferred date range of 1564-1567 CE based on surrounding entries. Betrothal agreement between ʿAbd al-Jafār b. Avraham ha-Levi and Estīta bt. Shemuʾel ha-Levi. The prospective groom contributes marital payments of: 50 dirham + 30 gold ashrafī judad + 25 ashrafī judad. The marital conditions contain an unusual pledge by ʿAbd al-Jafār that he will never take a second wife who is Abyssinian or Turkish (לא חבשייה ולא תרכייא) and for 15 years he will not wed a Jewish second wife (מן בנות ישראל). The structure of this monogamy clause is rare among early modern Karaite betrothal documents, with no known parallels as of March 2026. There are also conditions against the prospective groom's travel and if he should ever curse or lay a hand to Estīta. The couple's wedding date is set two years in advance, on Second Purim (probably 27-28 Adar). The Jewish community of Cairo had recently begun to observe this communal celebration each year following the events of 1524 CE, when a rogue Ottoman governor persecuted the community and was later deposed by loyalist imperial forces. These events were recounted each year with the reading of the Megillat Miṣrayim. NB: Second Purim was also observed during the medieval period, following the events of 1012 CE (PGPID 37965, PGPID 37958), but the extent to which it was observed in early modern Cairo requires further research. MCD.